VVS Laxman, who will serve as Team India’s interim coach in the Asia Cup, arrived in Dubai straight from Zimbabwe.

After the series against Ireland, Laxman was also appointed interim coach for the Zimbabwe tour. Laxman, the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), had been scheduled to fly from Zimbabwe to the UAE.

India must face Pakistan in their opening Asia Cup game on Sunday (August 28). Rahul Dravid’s Corona infection caused a serious setback in Team India’s preparations. In this trying period, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has enlisted VVS Laxman’s assistance. He has been invited to remain in the UAE with the group. Laxman has been appointed as the team’s interim coach for the Asia Cup, the BCCI announced on Wednesday. After the series against Ireland, Laxman was also appointed interim coach for the Zimbabwe tour. Laxman, the director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), had been scheduled to fly from Zimbabwe to the UAE. The athletes who weren’t chosen for the Asia Cup have gone back to their homes. Vice-captains KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda, and Avesh Khan travelled with Laxman to Dubai.

Laxman Dubai has joined the Rohit Sharma-led Team India. He was sent to Dubai by the BCCI to take Dravid’s place. When Dravid has recovered from Corona, he will rejoin the team. Team India won 3-0 against Zimbabwe in the three-match ODI series and 2-0 against Ireland in the two-match T20 series while being coached by Laxman.

Dravid has been told by BCCI of the corona infection.

Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, had mentioned Dravid’s positive Kovid test. Before Team India travelled for Dubai, he claimed that Rahul had tested positive for an infection during the corona test. The BCCI medical staff is taking care of him despite his minor complaints. For the time being, Dravid won’t be travelling to the UAE with the team; instead, Paras Mahambre will fill his position. When Dravid has recovered from Corona, he would be able to join the Indian team.

Pakistan 1st Asia Cup match with India

This year’s Asia Cup will be played in T20 format and will start from August 27. India’s opening match is against Pakistan on 28 August. Winning this match in Dubai will help Team India to atone for the loss in 2021. Last year in Dubai, Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets. Team India had never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup match before this. India now has the potential to get revenge for this loss.

Indian team for Asia Cup

Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

Reserve players: Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar.

Newz Orbit

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